Indexed feed dispensing mechanism

ABSTRACT

An improved livestock feeder provided with an adjustable feed dispensing mechanism including control levers which are operatively connected to the feed metering gates to control the flow of feed to livestock. The dispensing mechanism features a control lever which engage an array of indexing holes formed in the feeder to position the feed gate within the opening to adjust the amount of feed dispensed from the hopper. The dispensing mechanism includes a graduated scale corresponding to each of the index holes to provide a standard setting for the feeder which can be utilized by an animal producer to supply of feed flow at a given stage in the animal&#39;s life cycle to obtain a desired growth rate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/559,210, filed onNov. 13, 2006; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No.11/243,082, filed on Oct. 4, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,134,402 issued onNov. 14, 2006; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/898,727,filed on Jul. 23, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,976,450 issued on Dec. 20,2005; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/694,250, filed on Oct.27, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,766,765 issued on Jul. 27, 2004; which isa continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/347,815, filed on Jan. 21, 2003, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,637,368 issued on Oct. 28, 2003; which is a continuationof U.S. Ser. No. 10/140,025, filed on May 7, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No.6,526,913, issued on Mar. 4, 2003; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser.No. 09/840,631, filed Apr. 23, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,373, issuedon Mar. 25, 2003; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/309,839,filed May 11, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,770, issued on Aug. 7, 2001;which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/007,284, filed Jan.14, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,200, issued Jul. 13, 1999, whichclaims priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/046,048, filedMay 9, 1997. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to animal feed dispensers and, moreparticularly, to an indexed feed mechanism for selectively positioningthe feed gate is one of a plurality of discrete feed gate positions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

All conventional gravity type feeders utilize so-called feed gates toregulate the flow of feed from a hopper to the animals. These feed gatesare usually adjusted by some type of threaded adjusting mechanism tocontrol the flow of feed. The threaded adjusting mechanisms found in hogfeeders on the market today offer no means of accurately determining theflow of feed being dispensed. If the gate is open too much, more feedwill be dispensed than the animals can eat and the excess feed iswasted. On the other hand, if the gate is not open enough, the animalswill not get the amount of food necessary for optimum growth. Tocompound the matter, as the animals grow larger, they need more food tocontinue optimal growth.

To adjust conventional feeders correctly to obtain optimum performancerequires a certain amount of guesswork. Because adjusting the feeders isdifficult and very labor intensive, many feeders are simply not adjustedproperly, resulting in feed waste or poor animal growth rate asdiscussed above.

In addition, standardized agricultural practices require regularcleaning and disinfecting of livestock feeders. Typically the cleaningprocess entails washing the feeders with high pressure water hoses.Cleaning fluids, animal waste and leftover waste grain often remaintrapped in the trough of the feeder. One way to remove the cleaningfluids from a conventional feeder is tilting the feeders back and forthto displace the fluids. Further, conventional feeders often have definedflanges and structures, which trap food and dirt, making cleaning anddisinfecting with high pressure hoses difficult.

The present invention solves these problems by providing an improvedfeeder having a precise feed dispensing mechanism with standardizedindicia to eliminate the guesswork from dispensing feed to thelivestock.

The advantages provided by the present invention are that animalproducers can control proper feed adjustment based on animal weight,feed type, number of animals, etc. Producers can also mandate a standardsetting for all feeders for any given circumstance thereby ruling outpotential variables in animal production.

Another advantage to the present invention is that routine adjustmentsto the feed dispensing mechanism can be accomplished simply and the feedgates can be quickly and fully opened for cleaning.

The dispensing mechanism of the present invention is user friendly, theindex scale of 1 to 10 is easily read and understood, a direct actingindex lever correlates to feed gate movements either upwardly ordownwardly, the indexing lever and connecting rods are replaceable andthe unique connecting rod attaches to the feed gate without bolts orwelding.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a closablecleaning gate that allows cleaning fluids and waste food grains to beeasily removed from the entire feeder. Further, the inventionadditionally provides an improved flange structures, which facilitatescleaning, increased strength as well as minimizes discomfort to thefeeding animals.

A dust cover is included which makes the feeder of the present inventionenvironmentally safe by preventing large amounts of dust from becomingairborne when a feeder is being filled by an automatic delivery system.

In addition to the above, the improved feeder of the present inventionincludes a feed drop tube holder similar to that shown in U.S. Pat. No.5,558,039 to adapt it for use with an automatic feed delivery system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,039 to Leon S. Zimmerman discloses a livestockfeeder for use with an automatic feed delivery system having a feed droptube operatively connected thereto for dispensing feed into a feed bin.This feeder features a feed drop tube holder fabricated from a flexible,resilient material which is installed intermediate the opposed sidewalls of the feed bin by compressing the holder lengthwise with handpressure to effectively reduce its overall length and to allow tabsformed on the ends thereof to engage a plurality of horizontally opposedslots formed in the opposed side walls.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

After much research and study of the above described problems, thepresent invention has been developed to provide an improved livestockfeeder including a feed dispensing mechanism which accurately controlsthe flow of feed to the animals for consumption. The improved feederutilizes a pair of adjustable feed gates installed in the lower portionof a gravity feed bin formed by downwardly converging side walls. Thefeed gates are mechanically coupled by connecting rods to the feeddispensing controls which are accessible from the open top of the feedbin.

The controls for the feed dispensing mechanism are provided with a leverthat engages a standard index of positions that adjust the opening ofthe feed gates. By use of the controls, animal producers may obtain astandardized setting for the release of feed to animals at differentstages of the life cycle to obtain optimum growth rates.

In the preferred embodiment, the dispensing mechanism and controls areutilized with a hog feeder of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,558,039 which has previously issued to the Applicant herein.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention toprovide an improved livestock feeder having a precision dispensingmechanism that will accurately control the release of feed to livestock.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedlivestock feeder that will permit animal producers to obtainstandardized settings for the release of feed to numerous animals at aparticular stage in the production cycle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedlivestock feeder that will reduce variations in growth rate betweenanimals by insuring the controlled release of food thereto.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedlivestock feeder including a removable dust cover which is installedacross the top opening of the feeder to reduce the release of airbornedust generated by an automatic feed delivery system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a livestock feederwhich facilitates cleaning.

Another object of the current invention is to provide a livestock feederwith improved flanges which provide for greater animal comfort as wellas easy cleaning.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent and obvious from a study of the following description and theaccompanying drawings which are merely illustrative of such invention.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a livestock feeder of the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the improved feeder of the presentinvention showing the feed-dispensing mechanism thereof;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the feed dispensing controls;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken through section 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the feed gate showing the manner inwhich the connecting rod is attached thereto;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the connecting rod and feed gate;

FIG. 7 is a top sectional view of the lower portion of a connecting rod;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the control lever in a position ofdisengagement with an indexing hole;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the control lever in a position ofengagement with an indexing hole;

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the dust cover panels;

FIG. 11 is an elevational view of the animal feeder showing the dustcover installed therein;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view showing the support braces and J-shapedbrackets for mounting the dust cover panels;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the improved feeder of anotherembodiment of the present invention showing the cleaning mechanismthereof;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the improved feeder shown in FIG.13 illustrating actuation of the cleaning mechanism;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the cleaning mechanism and improvedflanges of the improved feeder shown in FIG. 14;

FIGS. 16 a and 16 b are cross-sectional views of the flanges of theopposing end walls of the present invention taken through 16-16 of FIG.15;

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the flanges of the trough portiontaken through 17-17 of FIG. 15;

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaning mechanism of thepresent invention;

FIG. 19 is a elevational view of an alternate embodiment of the improvedfeeder of the showing the feed-dispensing mechanism thereof;

FIG. 20 is a top view of the feeder illustrated in FIG. 19; and

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXI-XXI shown in FIG.20.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As background and to better understand by comparison the improvedlivestock feeder of the present invention, reference should be made toanimal feeder illustrated in FIG. 1 and labeled Prior Art.

The prior art animal feeder, indicated generally at 40, comprises anopen-topped hopper, indicated generally at 45, defined by opposing,downwardly sloping side walls 41 and opposing substantially vertical endwalls 42.

The opposing end walls 42 are of generally rectangular shape and theirupper edges are preferably positioned on substantially the same level asthe upper edges of the downwardly sloping side walls 41. The lower edgesof the opposing end walls 42 terminate at a substantial distance belowthe lower edges of the opposing side walls 42 and are suitably securedto opposed ends of a bottom wall 43.

The bottom wall 43 is connected to upwardly and outwardly inclined outerpanel portions 44 forming elongate feed troughs, indicated generally at55, along opposite sides of the animal feeder 40 and below the opposingside walls 41.

The lower portions of the downwardly converging side walls 41 and thebottom wall 43 define therebetween a feed discharge opening 16.

As another element of the Prior Art feeder 40, reinforcing dividers,shown in the form of plurality of spaced-apart, elongate rods 57 spanthe feed troughs 55 from the side walls 41 to the respective outertrough portions 44 of the bottom wall 43. The rods 57 reinforce the feedbin and divide each feed trough 55 into individual feeding areas whichserve to aid in giving the livestock animals access to feed.

As another element of the Prior Art feeder 40, a pair of elongate,pivotally mounted, vertically adjustable gates 48 including gateadjustment means 49 mechanically coupled thereto overlie the respectivefeed discharge openings 46 for varying the size of each opening 46. Thegates 48 extend longitudinally between the end walls 42 with theopposite ends of the gates 48 terminating closely adjacent end walls 42.A small clearance remains necessary between the ends of the gates 48 andthe end walls 42 so that the gates 48 may pivot freely in theirdescribed adjusted positions. The gate 48, which functions to regulatethe amount of food into the trough, is shown as a flat rectangularplate. It is envisioned that gate 48, can take the form of other shapessuch as circular or conical.

Another element of the Prior Art feeder 40 is the feed drop tube holder,indicated generally at 60, as shown in FIG. 1. The feed drop tube holder60 is a generally flat, rectangular structure having a circular opening60 a in the center thereof.

Holder 60 includes a plurality of tabs 60 b integrally formed onopposite ends thereof at predetermined intervals. Tabs 60 b are adaptedto engage a plurality of cooperating slots 61 which are disposed aboutthe upper peripheral edges of side walls 41 at regular intervals.

One of the principle advantages of the feed drop tube holder 60 is thatit does not require brackets for additional hardware to install. Holder60 is manufactured to an overall length that is slightly larger than theinside dimension between the opposing side walls 41 as measured in aplane coincidental with slots 61.

Being made of a flexible, resilient material holder 60 may be compressedlengthwise by hand pressure into a curved bow shape in order to inserttab 60 b into cooperating slot 61.

Once released from this position, holder 60 springs back into itsoriginal flat configuration such that tabs 60 b project outwardlythrough slots 61 in side walls 41 retaining holder 60 therebetween.

The central opening 60 a in holder 60 is sized to a dimension that isslightly larger than the feed drop tube 63 to accommodate the insertionof the same into central openings 60 a at varying angles without bindingtherein.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that holder 60 may beeasily repositioned to several longitudinal positions within feeder 40by removing and replacing holder 60 to a different grouping of opposedslots 61 as desired.

Since all of the above hereinabove described features of feeder 40 arewell known to those skilled in the art, further detailed discussion ofthe same is not deemed necessary.

One of the principle improvements of the animal feeder 10 of the presentinvention is the feed dispensing mechanism, indicated generally at 20comprising a pair of control levers 16 with associated indexing holes23, a scale 25 with numeric indicia 26, control rods 15 and feed gates14 as shown in FIG. 2. The feed gates 14 have projections 14 a, 14 bextending outwardly from feed discharge opening 16.

The structure and function of these components will now be described infurther detail. It will be understood that a dispensing mechanism asdepicted in FIG. 2 is installed on the interior surface of each end wall11 of the present feeder 10 to operate the vertically adjustable feedgates 14 thereof.

A pair of adjustable control levers 16 are pivotally mounted on theinterior surface of each end wall 11 by use of suitable attachinghardware such as a pivot screw 17, lock washer 18, spacer 13 andcompression spring 19 as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.

An opposite end of the control lever 16 includes a pointer 16 a forindicating the setting for the feed gates 14 as described hereinafter infurther detail.

The pointer 16 a is provided with a knob 21 including an index pin 22projecting outwardly therefrom for mating engagement with an array ofindex holes 23 which are radially disposed at regular intervals along anarc concentric with an axis of the pivot screw 17 as seen in FIGS. 3 and4.

Intermediate the pivot screw 17 and the knob 21 an upper end of aconnecting rod 15 is secured using suitable attaching hardware. In thepreferred embodiment a connecting tab 24 having an elongated slot 37formed at one end thereof is coupled to the upper end of connecting rod15. The tab 24 is mounted on a connecting bolt 35 which looselypenetrates the slot 37 and is secured thereon by lock nut 36.

An opposite end of each connector rod 15 is configured as illustrated inFIGS. 5-7. The lower most end of the connector rod 15 is initially bentat 90° to a longitudinal axis thereof as at 15 in FIG. 5 so as to lie ina plane coincident with the major portion of the rod 15. Thereafter thetip portion 15 b is again bent 900 as at 15 to lie in a planeperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the major portion of the rod15 as shown in FIG. 6.

To install the connector rod 15 in the feed gate 14 the tip portion 15 bis inserted through mounting aperture 38 as seen in FIG. 5 attaching therod 15 to the feed gate 14 without bolting or welding the connection.Thus installed, it will be appreciated that a non-binding linkage isprovided between the rod 15 and the gate 14 to facilitate operation ofthe dispensing mechanism when the feeder is filled to capacity.

In normal operation the user of the improved feeder 10 adjusts thedispensing mechanism 20 by grasping and pulling the knob 21 outwardlyfrom an engaged position as shown in FIG. 8 and pivoting the lever 16upwardly or downwardly to adjust the gate 14 to the desired verticalposition. After the desired position or hole 23 is selected, the knob 21is again released to the position shown in FIG. 9.

It will be appreciated that each respective indexing hole 23 correspondsto numeric indicia 26 on the scale 25 so as to dispense feed at apredetermined rate to livestock eating from the feeder 10. In thismanner several feeders 10 can be utilized in a livestock productionfacility to deliver a predetermined amount of feed to animals at anystage of the life cycle using the standard settings on the scale 25.

It will also be noted that a feeder 10 can be disposed between adjacentpens in such a production facility and adjusted to deliver feed indifferent amounts from opposite sides of the feeder 10. Thus, theimproved feeder of the present invention provides significant advantagesto animal producers which are unknown in the prior art.

Further, the physical location of the dispensing mechanisms 20 on theinterior end walls 11 of the feeder rather than on lateral brace members47 extending across the hopper 45 as shown in FIG. 1 lends itself toanother principle advantage of the present invention. The improvedfeeder 10 is provided with a removable dust cover, indicated generallyat 33 as shown in FIGS. 10-12.

The dust cover 33 is comprised of a pair of generally rectangular panels34 which are configured and dimensioned to closely fit the interiorperipheral edge of the feeder 10 when installed therein as shown in FIG.11. It will be understood that the feed drop tube holder 60 of the priorart as shown in FIG. 10 functions as a part of the dust cover 33 asdescribed hereinafter in further detail.

The dust cover panels 34 together with the feed drop tube holder 60 arefabricated from a resilient plastic material and are easily removed forcleaning and maintenance purposes.

The dust cover panels 34 are supported in the position shown in FIG. 11by a pair of generally parallel support braces 27 which extendtransversely across the top opening of the feeder 10 interconnecting thedownwardly sloping side walls 12.

Braces 27 are configured to support the inner edges of the panels 34 inthe position shown in FIG. 11. In the preferred embodiment the inneredges of the dust cover panels 34 are provided with attaching hardwaresuch as J-shaped brackets 39 which are secured to the inner edges ofpanels 34 by suitable fasteners. J-shaped brackets 39 engage the supportbraces to 27 to secure the panels 34 as more clearly shown in FIG. 12.

An opposite end portion of the panels 34 are provided with cut-outportions 34 a to accommodate the connecting rods 15 disposed along theend walls 11 of the feeder. The insertion of the feed drop tube holder28 is accomplished as described hereinabove and in U.S. Pat. No.5,558,039.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the remainingperipheral edges of the panels 34 are supported by their contact withthe downwardly and inwardly converging side walls 12 of the feeder.

In this construction the dust cover 33 functions to reduce the airborneparticulates generated by the automatic feed delivery system utilized inconjunction with feeders of this type. Thus, the environment of theproduction facility is made safer and respiratory hazards are reducedfor both man and animal.

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention will be nowdescribed with reference to FIG. 13. In this regard, FIG. 13 is across-sectional view of the feeder 10 showing the cleaning mechanism 96incorporated into the feeder 10. The cleaning mechanism 96, whichfunctions to allow easy removal of cleaning fluids and waste feed, isconstructed of an adjustable member or outer door 98, a linkage 100connected to the outer door 98 by a fastener 102 at the bottom end 104of the linkage 100, as well as to an engagement member or control lever106. The control lever 106 is connected to the top portion 108 oflinkage 100 and is pivotally mounted by the mounting system 110 to endwall 42. The mounting system 110 includes and has a knob 112, lockwasher 114, spacer 116, and compression ring 118. The structure andfunction of the control lever 106 is similar to that of the adjustablecontrol levers 16 as seen in FIGS. 3, 4, 8 and 9. Control lever 106functions to lift the outer door 98, through linkage 100 to an upwardposition, to expose four apertures 120.

The apertures 120, which are shown in FIG. 13 as being covered by theouter door 98, are elongated rectangular in shape and are located in theend wall 42 adjacent to the bottom surface 123 of the feed trough 55.The outer door 98 covers the apertures 120 and controls the flow ofcleaning fluid and waste grain through the apertures 120 during thecleaning of the feeder 10. Further shown in FIG. 13 are the optional,although preferred, first inner door 122 and second inner door 124.These doors are disposed adjacent the inner surface 126 of end wall 42and are connected to the outer door 98 by through bolts 128. The throughbolts 128 pass through the end wall 42 through a plurality of elongatedguide slots 130 formed in end wall 42. The first and second inner doors122, 124 are displaced upwardly and downwardly in conjunction with theouter door 98 as directed by control lever 106. As better seen in FIG.18, through bolts 128 couple the first inner door 122 by using lockwashers 132 and a nut 134. As can be appreciated, the particularfasteners used to movably couple the outer door 98 and the inner doors122, 124 can take any suitable form known in the fastener art. Furthershown in FIG. 18 is the coupling of linkage 100 with the outer door 98.Shown is the linkage rod tip portion 136 which is disposed through anelongated slot 138 formed in end wall 42. The linkage rod tip portion136 is located through hole 140 in the outer door 98 and is fastened bya fastener 142.

FIG. 14 shows the cleaning mechanism 96 in its raised position. Controllever 106 is depicted as being raised and engaged in an index member orindexing hole 144. In normal operation, the user of the feeder 10adjusts the cleaning mechanism 96 by grasping and pulling knob 112outwardly from an engaged position and pivoting the control lever 106upwardly or downwardly to adjust the outer door 98 to the desiredvertical position. After the desired position or indexing hole 144 isselected, the knob 112 is released. The function of the control lever106 and knob 112 is similar to that as previously described in thedescriptions of FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the cleaning mechanism 96 and improvedflanges of the current invention. The improved flange portions allow foreasier cleaning of the feeder as well as increased comfort to thefeeding animals. Disposed on the opposing end side 42 is a ledge 148generally parallel to the inner surface 126 of opposing end wall 42.Ledge 148 functions to reduce harmful contact to the feeding animals byproviding an increased surface area of contact with the feeding animal.As better seen in FIG. 16 a, the ledge 148 is connected to end wall 42by a flange 150, the outer surface being closed off by a flange 152.Flange 148 has a width from one-half (½″) to one (1″) inch, andpreferably five-eighths (⅝″) inch. The flange design allows for theproper stiffening and support of end wall 42 as well as reducing thediscomfort to animals which may be forced into the edge. The design alsoallows for easy stacking of the feeder component materials. An alternatedesign can be seen in FIG. 16 b, which shows a curved portion 154 joinedto the end wall 42.

FIG. 15 further shows a ledge 146 extending outwardly from the outertrough portion 44. The outwardly extending flange 146 is connected tothe outer trough portion 44 by transition flange 156. The configurationof the outwardly extending flange 146 and transition flange 156 reducesthe number of unexposed surfaces, resulting in better access to thetrough 55 surfaces by a stream of cleaning fluid. Conventional feederstypically have flat trough 55 bottom surfaces 123. To assist in theremoval of the cleaning fluids, it is optionally possible to adjust thesupport structure 158 (shown in FIG. 14) so that the bottom surface 123of the trough 55 is angled down toward the apertures 120 to assist inthe drainage of the cleaning fluids.

The method of utilizing the aforementioned cleaning mechanism will nowbe discussed in detail. A feeder 10 is provided having cleaningmechanism 96 consisting of a plurality of apertures 120 covered by anouter door 98. The outer door 98 is coupled to a control lever 106 whichis pivotably mounted to the side of the feeder 10. The control lever106, which has a knob 112, is adjustable through a plurality of indexpositions 144 allowing for the raising and lowering of the outer door98.

When it is desirable to clean the feeder, the operator will grasp theknob 112 and raises the control lever 106 to a raised index hole 144,moving the outer door 98 to expose at least a portion of the aperture120. The knob 112 is then released locking the control lever 106 in itsupward position. The feeder 10 is then exposed to a stream of highpressure water, washing and rinsing the surfaces of the feeder 10. It ispreferred that the operator use the stream high pressure water to “push”the fluids and waste feed out of the trough 55 through the apertures120. It is envisioned that the control lever 106 will be left in itsraised position until the trough 55 is substantially free of cleaningfluid. When the trough 55 has been cleaned, the operator grasps the knob112 and moves it downward so the outer door 98 covers the aperture 120.

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention will now bedescribed in reference to FIGS. 19-21 in which the feed hopper and feedgate are located in a position remote from the feed trough, therebyminimizing the likelihood of contamination of the feed reservoir fromthe feed trough. The animal feeder generally indicated at 200 includesan open top hopper 202 defined by opposing, downwardly sloping sidewalls204 and opposing substantially vertical end walls 206. One of the sidewalls 204 a includes a ledge region 208, whereas the other side wall 204b terminates at a position above and spaced apart from the ledge 208. Anopening 210 is defined between the ledge 208 and sidewall 204 b. A feedtrough 212 is defined by end walls 206 extending downwardly below feedhopper 202 and outer panels 214 extending therebetween. In this manner,the feed trough 212 is formed in a location remote from the feed hopper202 and feed gate opening 210.

A feed gate 216 is interposed between sidewall 204 b and ledge 208. Thefeed gate 216 is selectively positionable for adjusting the feed openingfor feed hopper 202. In this regard, a feed dispensing mechanism 218 isprovided which includes a control lever 220 and a control rod 222interconnecting the control lever 220 with the feed gate 216. Thecontrol lever 220 is similar to the control lever 16 described withreference to the other embodiments disclosed herein. In this regard, thecontrol lever 220 is pivotally mounted on the interior surface of an endwall 206 by use of suitable attaching hardware such as a pivot screw,lock washer, spacer and compression spring.

The opposite end of connecting rod 222 is configured to couple with feedgate 216 in a conventional manner. To provide a non-binding linkagebetween the control lever 220 and the feed gate 216 which facilitatesoperation of the dispensing mechanism when the feeder is filled. Thecontrol rod 222 has a flange 224 formed on an end opposite the feed gate216. The flange 224 includes a loss motion slot 226 which receives afastener 228 for coupling the control rod 222 with the control lever220.

The feed dispensing mechanism 218 further includes an index pin 230extending from the control lever 220 towards the end wall 206 for matingengagement with an array of index holes 232 which are regularly disposedat regular intervals along an arc concentric with a pivot screw 234pivotally coupling the control lever 220 to the end wall 206. In thismanner, the index pin 230 may be selectively located within any one ofthe arrays of holes 232 for selectively locating the feed dispensingmechanism 218 in a series of discrete positions. Furthermore, the slot226 formed in flange 224 allows the feed gate 216 to move within alimited range of motion about each of the discrete positions.

In normal operation, the feed dispensing mechanism 218 adjusts thelocation of the feed gate 216 when the control lever 220 is grasped andpulled such that index pin 230 disengages hole 232 allowing the controllever 220 to rotate to a new position. The control lever 220 ispivotally rotated such that a different hole 232 within the array.Thereby adjusting the position of feed gate 216. After the desired hole232 is selected, the lever 220 is re-positioned again such that theindex pin 230 engages the hole 232 for fixing the feed dispensingmechanism 218 in a new location.

It will be appreciated that the control lever 220 may be provided with apointer 236 which corresponds with a series of numbered indicia 238.These indicia 238 indicate a predetermined rate for dispensing feed fromthe hopper 202 into the feed trough 212. Feeder 200 further includes afeed agitation mechanism 240 disposed within hopper 202. The feedagitation mechanism 240 functions to agitate feed within the hopper 202for avoiding a bridging condition whereby the feed is blocked from beingdispensed out of the opening 210. Feed agitation mechanism 240 includesagitation grate 242 loosely secured to side wall 204 b at a first end244 and an agitator plate 246 located adjacent the inner surface ofledge 208. Second end 248 of agitation grate 244 is loosely coupled toagitator plate 246. A flange 250 extends from agitator plate 246 and iscoupled to an actuator 252 which extends downward into feed trough 212.As an animal feeds at feeder 200, it bumps or pushes on actuator 252causing agitator plate 246 to move or jiggle within hopper 202. Suchrelative movement of agitator plate 246 causes agitation grate 242 tomove within hopper 202. Slight relative motion creates sufficientagitation for causing any feed which may be bridging across the opening210 to break loose and fall down to the lower portion of hopper 202. Atthis location, the feed may be freely dispensed from the feed hopperinto the feed trough 212.

In this manner, the present invention provides an animal feed dispensingwith an indexed feed mechanism which allows for precise control of thefeed gate opening. Furthermore, the present disclosure provides anagitation mechanism which prevents the bridging of feed across the feedgate opening, thereby affording proper flow of feed from the feed hopper202 to the feed trough 212.

The terms “top”, “bottom”, “side”, and so forth have been used hereinmerely for convenience to describe the present invention and its partsas oriented in the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that theseterms are in no way limiting to the invention since such invention mayobviously be disposed in different orientations when in use.

From the above it can be seen that the improved animal feeder of thepresent invention provides an adjustable dispensing mechanism for theaccurate delivery of feed to livestock animals. The dispensing mechanismincludes standardized controls and settings to enable a precise amountof feed to be delivered to animals during specific stages of their lifecycle to ensure optimum growth rates.

The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specificways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit andessential characteristics of such invention. The present embodimentsare, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalencyrange of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and,thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention areintended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations arenot to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

1. An animal feeder comprising: a pair of end walls arranged in a spacedapart relation; a feed hopper including first and second side wallsinterposed between an upper portion of said pair of end walls at anupper end thereof, said first side wall having a ledge region extendingfrom a first lower edge thereof and a second side wall having a secondlower edge thereof terminating at a position above and spaced apart fromsaid ledge region to define a feed gate opening; a feed gatepositionable relative to said feed gate opening; an indexing mechanismoperably coupled to said feed gate and positionable in a plurality ofindividual discrete adjustment positions to selectively locate said feedgate in a plurality of individual discrete feed gate positions, saidindexing mechanism including an engagement member operably positionablein one of a plurality of individual discrete adjustment positions, alinkage having a first end operably coupled to said engagement memberand a second end operably coupled to said feed gate such that said feedgate is selectively located in one of a plurality of discrete feed gatepositions relative to said feed gate opening when said engagement memberis positioned in one of said plurality of individual discrete adjustmentpositions; a feed trough including third and fourth side walls and abottom wall interposed between a lower portion of said pair of endwalls; and an agitation mechanism disposed within said hopper, saidagitation mechanism having an agitation element loosely supportedadjacent said feed discharge and an actuator extending through said feedgate opening into said feed trough above said bottom wall.
 2. The animalfeeder as defined in claim 1 wherein said engagement member includes anengagement projection operable to engage a plurality of individualdiscrete recesses.
 3. The animal feeder as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid engagement member is pivotably coupled relative to the animalfeeder.
 4. The animal feeder as defined in claim 1 wherein said indexingmechanism further comprising an index scale providing a visual indiciaidentifying said plurality of individual discrete adjustment positions.5. The animal feeder of claim 1 wherein said an agitation elementcomprises an agitation plate supported on said ledge region of saidfirst side wall, and an agitation grate extending from said agitationplate and loosely secured to said second side wall, said actuator beingoperably coupled to said agitation plate.
 6. The animal feeder of claim5 wherein said agitation plate includes a flange extending through saidfeed gate opening and said actuator is coupled to said flange.
 7. Theanimal feeder of claim 5 wherein said agitation grate includes anagitator projecting away from said feed gate opening and into said feedhopper.
 8. The animal feeder of claim 1 wherein said agitation mechanismincludes a plurality of agitation elements.
 9. The animal feeder ofclaim 8 wherein each of said agitation elements comprises an agitationplate supported on said ledge region of said first side wall, and anagitation grate extending from said agitation plate and loosely securedto said second side wall, said actuator being operably coupled to saidagitation plate.
 10. The animal feeder of claim 9 wherein each of saidagitation plates includes a flange extending through said feed gateopening and said actuator is coupled to said flange.
 11. An animalfeeder comprising: a pair of end walls arranged in a spaced apartrelation; a feed hopper including first and second side walls interposedbetween an upper portion of said pair of end walls at an upper endthereof, said first side wall having a ledge region extending from afirst lower edge thereof and a second side wall having a second loweredge thereof terminating at a position above and spaced apart from saidledge region to define a feed gate opening; a feed gate positionablerelative to said feed gate opening; an indexing mechanism operablycoupled to said feed gate and positionable in a plurality of individualdiscrete adjustment positions to selectively locate said feed gate in aplurality of individual discrete feed gate positions while allowing saidfeed gate to move within a limited range of linear motion about each ofsaid plurality of individual discrete feed gate positions once said feedgate is in one of said plurality of individual discrete feed gatepositions; a feed trough including third and fourth side walls and abottom wall interposed between a lower portion of said pair of endwalls; and an agitation mechanism disposed within said hopper, saidagitation mechanism having an agitation element loosely supportedadjacent said feed discharge and an actuator extending through said feedgate opening into said feed trough above said bottom wall.
 12. Theanimal feeder as defined in claim 11 wherein said engagement memberincludes an engagement projection operable to engage a plurality ofindividual discrete recesses.
 13. The animal feeder as defined in claim11 wherein said engagement member is pivotably coupled relative to theanimal feeder.
 14. The animal feeder as defined in claim 11 wherein saidindexing mechanism further comprising an index scale providing a visualindicia identifying said plurality of individual discrete adjustmentpositions.
 15. The animal feeder of claim 11 wherein said an agitationelement comprises an agitation plate supported on said ledge region ofsaid first side wall, and an agitation grate extending from saidagitation plate and loosely secured to said second side wall, saidactuator being operably coupled to said agitation plate.
 16. The animalfeeder of claim 15 wherein said agitation plate includes a flangeextending through said feed gate opening and said actuator is coupled tosaid flange.
 17. The animal feeder of claim 15 wherein said agitationgrate includes an agitator projecting away from said feed gate openingand into said feed hopper.
 18. The animal feeder of claim 11 whereinsaid agitation mechanism includes a plurality of agitation elements. 19.The animal feeder of claim 18 wherein each of said agitation elementscomprises an agitation plate supported on said ledge region of saidfirst side wall, and an agitation grate extending from said agitationplate and loosely secured to said second side wall, said actuator beingoperably coupled to said agitation plate.
 20. The animal feeder of claim19 wherein each of said agitation plates includes a flange extendingthrough said feed gate opening and said actuator is coupled to saidflange.